Julian Wood
About Julian Wood
Julian works on our economics project, primarily examining regional development in New Zealand. With a Master’s in Social Science from Waikato University, Julian brings a depth of experience from his time working as a senior policy analyst for the Department of Labour, where he focused on labour market dynamics, minimum wage and employment legislation, regional development, business dynamics, and immigration.
Most Recent Activity
COVID-19 economic analysis – 20.05.2020
By Julian Wood
The following is an overview and commentary on economic information available from Treasury, the Reserve Bank, and the Government’s 2020/21…
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Invest in people alongside new infrastructure
By Julian Wood
The euphoria we are all feeling after entering Level 2 will be tempered by the pain of pay cuts and…
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COVID-19 economic analysis – 22.04.2020
By Julian Wood
Analysis of Treasury’s scenario forecasts (released 13 April) and weekly economic commentary (released 17 April), by Senior Researcher Julian Wood…
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But now, who pays?
By Julian Wood
On Tuesday last week, the New Zealand Treasury outlined five economic scenarios that aimed to depict how the economy may…
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Charities to be squeezed on both sides
By Julian Wood
In an unprecedented move, last week the Government announced a $12.1 billion package to combat the economic impact of Covid-19….
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Migration Policy Paper: A Welcome That Works
By Julian Wood
Over the last 30 years, New Zealand has become over reliant on temporary work migration as a way to solve…
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A welcome that works
By Julian Wood
In the 90’s the regions cried out for workers to pick fruit, plant trees and generally do a range of…
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Good migration policy is about more than just jobs
By Julian Wood
Recent political posturing over partnership visas and arranged marriages is a troubling distraction that derails the real, necessary debates we…
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Review our reliance on temporary workers
By Julian Wood
New Zealanders are heavy users of temporary work migration, so it was disappointing that no-one seriously discussed this last week…
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Checking our climate blind spots
By Julian Wood
When it comes to emissions it is easy for us to obsess about factories and farmers as if these activities…
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Preparing for economic downturn
By Julian Wood
There’s been a lot of recent chat about a possible economic downturn, and many seem to be living under the…
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The pitfalls and priorities of Public Private Partnerships
By Julian Wood
New Zealand has a long and contentious history of private public partnerships (or PPPs). The biggest argument in favour of…
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We can’t afford to sleep on climate risks any longer
By Julian Wood
The story of Rip Van Winkle, first published 200 years ago, resonates deeply with me. I too feel like I…
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Budget reveals wellbeing will cost more than Rules allow
By Julian Wood
The figures announced in last week’s Wellbeing Budget stretches the Government’s self-imposed Budget Responsibility Rules (keeping the level of net…
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Making New Zealand “sexy”
By Julian Wood
In contrast with our apparently “sexy” accent, New Zealand is struggling when it comes to being attractive as a long-term…
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Provincial Growth Fund | Conclusions and Recommendations
By Julian Wood
Perhaps we cannot raise the winds. But each of us can put up the sail, so that when the wind…
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Provincial Growth Fund | Comparative Analysis
By Julian Wood
We will undertake a comparative analysis of how the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) aligns with the Regional Action Plans (RAPs)….
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Provincial Growth Fund Overview
By Julian Wood
The PGF, officially launched on 2 August 2018, is a three year, three billion dollar commitment by the current coalition…
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Smart Specialisation
By Julian Wood
BEST PRACTICE – A SMART SPECIALISATION REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT INVESTMENT STRATEGY Across the OECD many have turned toward what has become…
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Spatial Policy | The case for and against
By Julian Wood
INTRODUCTION In 2017, the coalition Government announced the $3 billion Provincial Growth Fund (PGF), dramatically changing the New Zealand regional…
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